Giugiaro’s double bottom
After Giorgetto Giugiaro had already shown the world a ready-to-use MPV in 1978, the beautiful Lancia Megagamma, he pushed the boundaries of the space car concept again in 1982. The Italdesign Capsula proved that a space car could really be much more sensible, smarter, more efficient and more practical. But not more beautiful at the same time.
Some designers have the talent to create excruciatingly beautiful automobiles, the kind that make big and small boys dream about that one spot behind that exclusive wheel, and about the view they will have on the most beautiful roads in the world. At the same time, the same designers have the talent to come up, completely unexpectedly, with cars that evoke the complete opposite of the above emotions. Nothing wrong with that, of course. Sensible cars, meant to work with, must also be there. What is striking, however, is how Giorgetto Giugiaro managed to give the ratio so much space during the design of his Capsula, that the emotion could only play a supporting role. Yes, the Capsula looks really neatly finished and it is covered in fashionable metallic paints. And he bears his name in large, artful letters on the sides. More precisely: on the silver-grey strip around the body, which breaks the enormous windows like a tight belt. The glass extends far down, so that you can almost see the Capsula occupants on their laps. And that’s partly due to the extremely low position of the hood – at least in relation to the waist and the roof of the car. Under that hood is the nice flat boxer engine of the Alfasud.
It doesn’t stop there in terms of technology, because everything the Capsula needs to function is incorporated in the lower (dark) part of the car. The drive, brakes, fuel tank, air conditioning, battery, electrical system and even the spare wheel and luggage compartment are all together at the bottom of the car, as a common unit. With that knowledge in mind, the quirky shapes of the Capsula are suddenly much easier to explain: Giugiaro first designed that self-supporting platform and then used it as the basis for an infinite variety of bodies to fit on top of, such as an ambulance, taxi, tow truck, school bus, delivery van, or beach vehicle. Of all the versions that he could have realized in 1:1 scale, Giugiaro chose the Capsula as a smart MPV, of which eighty percent of the car volume benefited the occupants. And all this shortly before the recognized MPV greats Chrysler Voyager and Renault Espace came on the market. And even long before the Mercedes-Benz A-Class caused a furore with just that one distinctive aspect of the Capsula: its double bottom…
This article originally appeared in AutoWeek Classics issue 11 of 2018.
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